Edited image viral as Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Stalin on Times Square billboard

What is the claim?

A photo circulating on social media shows a billboard featuring Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin against a backdrop of the American flag in New York’s Times Square. Below Stalin’s image are several portraits and a message welcoming him and TRB Rajaa, the Minister for Industries of Tamil Nadu, to the U.S. 

Stalin arrived in the U.S. on August 29 and is expected to meet with investors in San Francisco and Chicago.

The purported billboard reads, “We welcome our true leader for social justice, equality, and Tamil pride, Honourable Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu Muthuvel Karunanidhi Stalin.” Below this, another text block states, “Along with Honourable Industrial Minister, TRB Rajaa and investment delegation to the United States of America.” The billboard also includes the hashtag, “#CMStalininUS.”

A post on X (formerly Twitter) featuring this image claims, "Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin at Times Now Square, New York🔥Stalin is currently on visit to USA." As of this writing, the post has over 250,000 views and more than 5,000 likes. The archives of this and similar posts are available here, here, here, here, and here.

Screenshot of a similar viral photo (Source: X/Modified by Logically Facts)

Multiple media outlets, including News 18 Tamil Nadu, The Indian Express Tamil, IBC Tamil, and Puthiyathalaimurai TV, have also reported on the alleged photo, claiming Stalin was welcomed in Times Square.

However, our investigation revealed that the viral photo has been digitally altered. The original image featured advertisements for various products, not Stalin’s portrait.

What are the facts?

A reverse image search showed the same Times Square scene on multiple websites with similar advertisements and visual elements but without Stalin’s image.

The Clio website, which provides guides to historical and cultural sites across the U.S., includes the image in an article titled, "One Times Square (The Times Tower)." The reference section credits the photo to the Nantucket Preservation Trust, a nonprofit focused on Nantucket’s history.

Checking the Nantucket Preservation Trust’s website from January 2015, a similar image appeared in an article titled, "Friday Find: History of One Times Square." Although the article does not specify the photo’s date or provide credits, the year displayed on the building in the image appears to be 2013.

Screenshot of the original image. (Source: Nantucket Preservation Trust/Modified by Logically Facts)

Where is the original photo from?

Further investigation found a similar photo uploaded to Facebook in September 2011 (archived here). It shows advertisement panels and surroundings matching those in the viral and Nantucket images. The year displayed on the building in this photo is 2009.

We identified this as the original image used to create the viral version by examining several clues. On the right side of both the viral and original photos, a UFC poster advertises a fight between Franklin and Belfort on a Saturday in September, “Live on Pay Per View.” We found a video (archived here) on UFC’s official Facebook page showing that this fight took place on September 19, 2009, a Saturday.

Additionally, an Instagram user posted a similar image in 2023 (archived here), claiming it showed Times Square in 2009. This image displays the year ‘2009’ in two places on the building. A September 13, 2009, image on Wikimedia Commons also features similar advertisements.

The original photo includes advertisements for Toshiba, TDK, Chevrolet, Budweiser, News Corporation, Panasonic, and Yahoo. The viral photo retains the top four ads but alters the bottom half, displaying the year 2024 at the top of the building, whereas the original shows 2009.

Screenshots of the viral image and the original photo. (Source: X/Facebook: Times Square Extraordinaire)

The verdict

The viral photo claiming to show Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin and other officials in New York’s Times Square is digitally altered. The image and text welcoming Stalin were edited onto existing photos featuring advertisements on a Times Square building.